Framed pegboard panel plans, sized to your space

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Stud finder
• Level
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Build the standoff frame

   Lay the top and bottom rails (A) on the floor 32″ apart outside to outside, flat (the wide face down). Set the end stiles (B) between them at each end.

   Set the middle rail (C) between the stiles, 15 1/4″ up from the bottom edge.

   At every joint, glue the end and drive 2 screws, 2 1/2″, through the outside piece into the end of the inside one. 1×2 splits easily: predrill every hole with a 1/8″ bit.

   • Tip Pick straight 1×2s at the store: sight down each one and skip any that curve like a banana.

   ✓ The frame is 48″ × 32″ and its diagonals are equal within 1/8″.

4. 4Hang the frame on the wall

   Slide a stud finder along the wall and mark every stud with a pencil. Studs are usually 16″ apart, measured center to center. Confirm one by drilling a tiny test hole where the trim will hide it: you'll feel the drill bite into wood.

   Hold the frame against the wall with its bottom edge 40″ above the floor and check the top rail with a level. Tack it with one screw near the middle, re-check level, then drive the rest.

   Predrill each rail where it crosses a stud and drive one #10 × 3″ screw through the rail into the stud, centred on the rail: 9 in all. Start the frame 2″ left of a stud so the screws land in 3 studs per rail.

   • Tip Before drilling, check the wall for pipes and wires: avoid drilling directly above or below outlets and switches, and behind sinks.

   ✓ Every screw went into wood (they pull tight, not spin). The piece doesn't move when you pull on it firmly.

   STOP. Drywall alone won't hold it. Never hang this with only drywall anchors. Keep the load under about 50 lb, and never hang it over a bed or crib.

5. 5Screw on the pegboard

   Set the pegboard (D) on the frame, smooth side out, edges flush with the frame all round. A helper holding it saves frustration.

   Drive 1″ screws through the pegboard's own holes into the frame, each with a finishing washer under the head: every 8″ along the top, bottom, middle rails and both stiles, 26 in all.

   Snug the screws until the washers seat; don't overdrive them or they crush the hardboard.

   • Tip Using the existing holes means no drilling and no mismatched holes. Pick holes that line up over the middle of the 1×2.

   ✓ Press the board between the rails: it doesn't flex in or rattle. A hook drops into a hole and swings down into place.

6. 6Lay out the tools

   Before hanging hooks, lay the tools on the floor in the shape of the board and arrange them: the ones you use most between waist and eye height, long ones at the sides.

   Hang hooks and tools. Push each hook in at an angle, then swing it down so its lower leg locks behind the board.

   Trace around each tool with a marker if you like: you'll see at a glance what's missing.

   • Tip Plastic hook locks (sold where pegboard is) stop hooks lifting out when you grab a tool.

   ✓ Every tool lifts off with one hand and goes back without the hook coming out with it.

7. 7Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.